With reference to the original post and to highlight a few differences:
Online50 is not Sage and our prices remain unchanged (since 2008).
Our product is offered on monthly terms - there is no minimum term other than one calendar month.
We offer all versions of Sage from Line 50 v 8 to the present and all feature sets - Accounts, Accounts Plus and Professional
We offer accountants Linked Client billing where we invoice the client directly and forward the credit note for 25% margin to our partner accountant. The client's data will be available in the accountant's bureau software. Accountants can have unlimited datasets and they can be in any version we offer.
Recruitment agencies are able to help people who got a qualification then worked in that field and that field only for a period of time and are now looking for different role doing the same thing. That is what they are good at. That is all they are likely to do for you. If they recommend you and it doesn't work out they will have to give some of their fees back - would you take the risk if you were in their shoes?
If you apply only through the formal route you will compete with everyone else who is trying for the job. When I did a brief stint in recruitment I could get 200 or more applications for a single role. I would seldom have more than 30 minutes to decide which candidate to put forward.
If you get someone from inside inviting you to send in a CV and they are going to give it a warm introduction you are far more likely to get invited to interview (not talking about doing anything inappropriate - you still have to earn the job offer)
You mentioned emailing the waste company - stop - she wont answer - she is busy! You have to get her on the telephone and have a conversation - ask about the role, ask something specific in the job description, ask about what the ideal candidate would look like - provided the question feels appropriate (so he/she doesn't feel you are wasting time) it almost doesn't matter what it is - just engage the person in conversation - your goal is to get her/ him to like you. Then when your CV is sent call to confirm it arrived - the CV has less chance of getting lost in the pile of 200 other hopefuls. Provided you have also tailored your CV to reflect exactly what they are looking for (assuming you can honestly say that) you have a higher than 50% chance of getting invited to the interview.
If the private sector is where you want to end up, would you be open to working in commerce? If you thought a bit about who may be interested in what you have to offer it may help you. What value could you offer?
For example: Would a commercial company with government contracts appreciate your 'inside' knowledge and or contacts gained over 8 years? ie. if you were the finance officer linked to waste management - could a waste management company be interested in talking to you?
I carried out a very successful career guidance contract for the Job Centre Plus a few years ago and one of the key things I would offer you is this: Forget recruitment agencies. Forget generic applications. Because of the CV issues referred to adequately above it is highly improbable that they will genuinely help you get work.
To get into a role when you are doing a career change you have to use personal/ professional relationships. Who do you currently know who may be able to recommend their HR department consider you for a role? Could you get involved in networking and create the relationships?
Good luck. It is a tough and frustrating place to be!
Online50 offers MS Project hosted. Currently it is as stand alone versions rather than with server. 4 key benefits of having the software hosted include:
Access the full MS Project application on an iPad or Mac.Allow users to access MS Project from anywhere and at anytime (subject to Internet connection) - different work site, home, overseas etc.It can be used on an older machine if needed (I use it on a 12 year old machine currently).No need to budget for upgrades - all upgrades are included as standard.
If the same benefits would exist for the system you need Project to integrate with, it is highly probably they could both (all) be hosted. Our engineers would be able to help with the integration (depending on exactly what is needed).
If this sounds worth exploring further, please feel free to give us a call on 08001950835. Otherwise, all the very best at finding a company that can help you.
I have also tried 2 different paid for mind mapping software types (assuming they would give me more or better functionality) and have kept coming back to Freemind.
It does what mind mapping software is supposed to do - get out of the way so you can think or plan visually.
Genuinely free, fully functional mind mapping.
I once tried to use mind mapping for project planning with links to my Outlook calendar etc - it sounded great but very quickly fell over and became unmanageable.
I do not have personal experience of the software as a user but Online50 hosts it on monthly terms. We have a number of people who use it on our platform. Some really like it because it can be completely customised to your business. Others have moved away for exactly the same reason. I guess it is about what best suits your business.
I have met a number of businesses at events who use it and swear by it!
Ciaran O'Donnel of VirtualFD.me has worked with a number of quick growth internet (and other) startups. He was a virtual part of the team with a startup IT company where I setup the business development department. Really sharp and very effective!
I have used Mark Blackwell at www.mhrconsultancy.co.uk and would recommend him highly (020 8894 6863). He is based in SW London so not sure if that will work for the both of you.
If you like the version of Sage 50 you are on, and your computers still work perfectly well, you could consider hosting as an alternative.
Online50 is often approached to help out in exactly those situations. In fact for three years they have offered a Champagne Challenge - if you can operate a range of reports using your data set more quickly on your local network than on the Online50 platform, we will give you a bottle of Bollinger. Unfortunately we have yet to actually give one out - but perhaps you may get lucky.
A subcontractor I used some years ago purchased an Acer and it felt cheap - plastic feeling keys, tin sounding mouse pad buttons and it felt like it would be possible to fold it in half. It didn't last 2 years before it broke and had to be replaced.
Some years ago, I had a Toshiba but I think it was the slightly more expensive one - but it was brilliant! It was great to use, the additional software from Toshiba was useful and I believe it is still reliable almost 7 years later.
I now have Dell Vostro laptops which I think offer great value. I use my machines very hard - they are often on for long hours in a day and in that time can be working on 8 to 10 programs at a time. On other days they get hauled from meeting to meeting. The one I purchased 7 years ago has had a screen malfunction but I have set it up for the children to use with a monitor and it still works fine. My latest is the 3450 model which I absolutely love!! It is compact, the battery is reliable, the machine is solid - very well worth the money.
As an aside, I always buy the 3 year insurance. In every one of my work machines it has paid itself back over the life of the machine.
I have found them to be consistently very responsive and supportive. I have used them for almost 10 years. I have a reseller account but the link above shows you their UK hosting prices (which are slightly more expensive than the US alternatives but there is a school of thought that suggests UK hosting helps you with UK SEO)
I route all my personal email to my gmail account and then I can access it all through my phone. A key drawback is that I access gmail over the Internet and my train into London goes through areas that have patchy 3G coverage.
If you are open to hosted Exchange, Online50 offers this for just £7.50 per user per month (unlimited mailboxes). Hosted Exchange is fantastic for business email where there are many people - you can backup all your email - which isn't easily possible with the other options. Also you don't have to operate your own internal Exchange server. A tweak for blackberry means you can also access most of the items on your blackberry without a Blackberry server. You can easily view and interact with other staff's calendars, emails etc. so nothing gets lost or overlooked. Team collaboration is great using this tool. http://www.online50.net/HostedExchange.html I work for Online50.
My answers
Online Sage
With reference to the original post and to highlight a few differences:
Online50 is not Sage and our prices remain unchanged (since 2008).
Our product is offered on monthly terms - there is no minimum term other than one calendar month.
We offer all versions of Sage from Line 50 v 8 to the present and all feature sets - Accounts, Accounts Plus and Professional
We offer accountants Linked Client billing where we invoice the client directly and forward the credit note for 25% margin to our partner accountant. The client's data will be available in the accountant's bureau software. Accountants can have unlimited datasets and they can be in any version we offer.
Dont apply - network
Recruitment agencies are able to help people who got a qualification then worked in that field and that field only for a period of time and are now looking for different role doing the same thing. That is what they are good at. That is all they are likely to do for you. If they recommend you and it doesn't work out they will have to give some of their fees back - would you take the risk if you were in their shoes?
If you apply only through the formal route you will compete with everyone else who is trying for the job. When I did a brief stint in recruitment I could get 200 or more applications for a single role. I would seldom have more than 30 minutes to decide which candidate to put forward.
If you get someone from inside inviting you to send in a CV and they are going to give it a warm introduction you are far more likely to get invited to interview (not talking about doing anything inappropriate - you still have to earn the job offer)
You mentioned emailing the waste company - stop - she wont answer - she is busy! You have to get her on the telephone and have a conversation - ask about the role, ask something specific in the job description, ask about what the ideal candidate would look like - provided the question feels appropriate (so he/she doesn't feel you are wasting time) it almost doesn't matter what it is - just engage the person in conversation - your goal is to get her/ him to like you. Then when your CV is sent call to confirm it arrived - the CV has less chance of getting lost in the pile of 200 other hopefuls. Provided you have also tailored your CV to reflect exactly what they are looking for (assuming you can honestly say that) you have a higher than 50% chance of getting invited to the interview.
The only goal of your CV is to get an interview.
Career?
If the private sector is where you want to end up, would you be open to working in commerce? If you thought a bit about who may be interested in what you have to offer it may help you. What value could you offer?
For example: Would a commercial company with government contracts appreciate your 'inside' knowledge and or contacts gained over 8 years? ie. if you were the finance officer linked to waste management - could a waste management company be interested in talking to you?
I carried out a very successful career guidance contract for the Job Centre Plus a few years ago and one of the key things I would offer you is this: Forget recruitment agencies. Forget generic applications. Because of the CV issues referred to adequately above it is highly improbable that they will genuinely help you get work.
To get into a role when you are doing a career change you have to use personal/ professional relationships. Who do you currently know who may be able to recommend their HR department consider you for a role? Could you get involved in networking and create the relationships?
Good luck. It is a tough and frustrating place to be!
Hosted MS Project?
Hi Ros
Online50 offers MS Project hosted. Currently it is as stand alone versions rather than with server. 4 key benefits of having the software hosted include:
Access the full MS Project application on an iPad or Mac.Allow users to access MS Project from anywhere and at anytime (subject to Internet connection) - different work site, home, overseas etc.It can be used on an older machine if needed (I use it on a 12 year old machine currently).No need to budget for upgrades - all upgrades are included as standard.
If the same benefits would exist for the system you need Project to integrate with, it is highly probably they could both (all) be hosted. Our engineers would be able to help with the integration (depending on exactly what is needed).
If this sounds worth exploring further, please feel free to give us a call on 08001950835. Otherwise, all the very best at finding a company that can help you.
Regards,
Russell
www.online50.net
Freemind
I have also tried 2 different paid for mind mapping software types (assuming they would give me more or better functionality) and have kept coming back to Freemind.
It does what mind mapping software is supposed to do - get out of the way so you can think or plan visually.
Genuinely free, fully functional mind mapping.
I once tried to use mind mapping for project planning with links to my Outlook calendar etc - it sounded great but very quickly fell over and became unmanageable.
My.N
I do not have personal experience of the software as a user but Online50 hosts it on monthly terms. We have a number of people who use it on our platform. Some really like it because it can be completely customised to your business. Others have moved away for exactly the same reason. I guess it is about what best suits your business.
I have met a number of businesses at events who use it and swear by it!
yes
Ciaran O'Donnel of VirtualFD.me has worked with a number of quick growth internet (and other) startups. He was a virtual part of the team with a startup IT company where I setup the business development department. Really sharp and very effective!
I have used Mark Blackwell at www.mhrconsultancy.co.uk and would recommend him highly (020 8894 6863). He is based in SW London so not sure if that will work for the both of you.
Champagne Challenge
If you like the version of Sage 50 you are on, and your computers still work perfectly well, you could consider hosting as an alternative.
Online50 is often approached to help out in exactly those situations. In fact for three years they have offered a Champagne Challenge - if you can operate a range of reports using your data set more quickly on your local network than on the Online50 platform, we will give you a bottle of Bollinger. Unfortunately we have yet to actually give one out - but perhaps you may get lucky.
Russell
PS. I work for Online50
If it has to be from those2
A subcontractor I used some years ago purchased an Acer and it felt cheap - plastic feeling keys, tin sounding mouse pad buttons and it felt like it would be possible to fold it in half. It didn't last 2 years before it broke and had to be replaced.
Some years ago, I had a Toshiba but I think it was the slightly more expensive one - but it was brilliant! It was great to use, the additional software from Toshiba was useful and I believe it is still reliable almost 7 years later.
I now have Dell Vostro laptops which I think offer great value. I use my machines very hard - they are often on for long hours in a day and in that time can be working on 8 to 10 programs at a time. On other days they get hauled from meeting to meeting. The one I purchased 7 years ago has had a screen malfunction but I have set it up for the children to use with a monitor and it still works fine. My latest is the 3450 model which I absolutely love!! It is compact, the battery is reliable, the machine is solid - very well worth the money.
As an aside, I always buy the 3 year insurance. In every one of my work machines it has paid itself back over the life of the machine.
Meirhosting or Online50
If you want to stay with POP3 then meirhosting.net get my vote!! http://www.meirhostingdomains.com/order.php?mode=hs&spt=3
I have found them to be consistently very responsive and supportive. I have used them for almost 10 years. I have a reseller account but the link above shows you their UK hosting prices (which are slightly more expensive than the US alternatives but there is a school of thought that suggests UK hosting helps you with UK SEO)
I route all my personal email to my gmail account and then I can access it all through my phone. A key drawback is that I access gmail over the Internet and my train into London goes through areas that have patchy 3G coverage.
If you are open to hosted Exchange, Online50 offers this for just £7.50 per user per month (unlimited mailboxes). Hosted Exchange is fantastic for business email where there are many people - you can backup all your email - which isn't easily possible with the other options. Also you don't have to operate your own internal Exchange server. A tweak for blackberry means you can also access most of the items on your blackberry without a Blackberry server. You can easily view and interact with other staff's calendars, emails etc. so nothing gets lost or overlooked. Team collaboration is great using this tool. http://www.online50.net/HostedExchange.html I work for Online50.